Dubai: Gulf News is the most popular English language newspaer website in the Arab world for the second year running, according to Forbes Middle East.
Of the 63 Arabic and English sites ranked, Gulf News was placed 12th and was the only English language news portal in the Top 20.
"Online platforms for newspapers are very important as online penetration grows and print readers decline," said Abdul Hamid Ahmad, editor-in-chief of Gulf News.
"This award is a big achievement for us because our paper is an English language newspaper in a region which predominantly has an Arabic readership."
Mohammed Almezel, Gulf News managing editor, accepted the award late on Monday. The Bahrain- based Gulf Daily News was placed second in the English language category. In all, 13 English language news websites feature among the top 63 online newspaper portals in the Mena region.
In the UAE, Khaleej Times came in second and ranked 36th overall, while The National was third at 43. No other English language site from the UAE featured on the list.
‘Fierce competition'
"It is my reservation that English papers should not be ranked with Arabic language newspapers as they each fall into their own category with their own readership," said Ahmad.
Monday's ceremony was attended by Dr Nasser Al Tayyar, President of Arab Publisher House, and editors of leading Arab newspapers. "Printed press is facing fierce competition from all the state-of-the-art communication means and media, such as Twitter and Facebook," said Al Tayyar.
"Readers are no longer interested in printed press to follow news events, rather they prefer electronic press. Experts say that by 2025 there will no longer be any printed newspapers."
The Arabic language Egyptian newspaper Al Youm Al Sabe, topped the list for the second consecutive year. Over the period surveyed, the newspaper attracted more than 15 million visitors to its website.
The Algerian newspaper Chorouk took the second position, moving up from third last year. Climbing 19 places to third position was the UAE's Emarat Alyoum, followed by the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram in fourth place and the Jordanian newspaper Al Rai in fifth place.
"We detected significant changes from last year's list," said Khuloud Al Omian, editor-in-chief of Forbes Middle East. "It indicates the list's success by contributing to a greater awareness amongst decision-makers of these newspaper websites.
"The ranking highlights the significant role of electronic newspapers in changing the shape of the press. One of the most important changes is the increase in the number of newspapers that made it to our list. This year's list comprises 63 online newspapers while last year it was 50," said Al Omian.
"The revolutions that toppled the government regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have also caused remarkable changes in the administrative structure in some newspapers."
Al Omian said the revolutions had contributed to the reform of the editorial approach in many newspapers. The best examples are Egypt's Al Ahram and Tunisia's Al Sabah. Both newspapers were supporters of the government.
"They were used as a means to deceive readers, with their headlines praising the country's leaders and their kin at the expense of the people and their issues and concerns," Al Omian added. "Other newspapers have become aware of the nec-essity to restructure before it is too late.
"Following the first protest of its kind in the history of Jordan, the Jordanian newspaper Al Rai dismissed its directors and editorial boards and replaced them with those who led the protest."
Top sites in region
A total of 13 English language news websites feature in the top 63 newspapers online in the Mena region. They are:
- 1. Gulf News (overall ranked 12)
- 2. Gulf Daily News - Bahrain (overall ranked 22)
- 3. Arab Times - Kuwait (overall ranked 26)
- 4. Arab News - Saudi Arabia (overall ranked 27)
- 5. Times of Oman - Oman (overall ranked 34)
- 6. The Daily Star - Lebanon (overall ranked 35)
- 7. Khaleej Times - UAE (overall ranked 36)
- 8. The National - UAE (overall ranked 43)
- 9. Saudi Gazette - Saudi Arabia (overall ranked 45)
- 10. Jordan Times (overall ranked 47)
- 11. Tripoli Post (overall ranked 57)
- 12. Gulf Weekly - Bahrain (overall ranked 60)
- 13. Qatar Tribune (overall ranked 62)
Time spent on site for the three UAE newspapers:
- 1. Gulf News: 4.20 mins
- 2. Khaleej Times: 2.11
- 3. The National: 2.05
